Editing Helmut Kohl (section)

=== Early political career ===
[[File:KAS-Kohl, Helmut-Bild-6906-3.jpg|thumb|left|Kohl as the CDU [[Rhineland-Palatinate]] state party chairman]]
In 1946, Kohl joined the recently founded [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|CDU]],{{sfn|Schwarz|2012|p=52}} becoming a full member once he turned 18 in 1948.{{sfn|Schwarz|2012|p=57}} In 1947, Kohl was one of the co-founders of the [[Junge Union]]-branch in Ludwigshafen, the CDU youth organisation.{{sfn|Schwarz|2012|p=57}} In 1953, Kohl joined the board of the Palatinate branch of the CDU. In 1954, Kohl became vice-chair of the Junge Union in [[Rhineland-Palatinate]],<ref name=fruehejahre>{{cite web |title=Jugendjahre und erste politische Erfahrungen 1930–1959 |url=http://www.helmut-kohl.de/jugendjahre.html |website=helmut-kohl.de |access-date=18 June 2015 |language=de |archive-date=27 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170527094933/http://www.helmut-kohl.de/jugendjahre.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> being a member of the board until 1961.{{sfn|Schwarz|2012|p=74}}

In January 1955, Kohl ran for a seat on the board of the Rhineland-Palatinate CDU, losing just narrowly to the state's Minister of Family Affairs, [[Franz-Josef Wuermeling]].<ref name=fruehejahre /> Kohl was still able to take up a seat on the board, being sent there by his local party branch as a delegate.{{sfn|Schwarz|2012|p=75}} During his early years in the party, Kohl aimed to open it towards the young generation, turning away from a close relationship with the churches.{{sfn|Schwarz|2012|pages=78–80}}

In early 1959, Kohl was elected chairman of the Ludwigshafen district branch of the CDU, as well as a candidate for the upcoming state elections. On 19 April 1959, Kohl was elected as the youngest member of the state diet, the [[Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate]].{{sfn|Schwarz|2012|pages=91–92}} In 1960, he was also elected to the municipal council of Ludwigshafen where he served as leader of the CDU party until 1969.{{sfn|Schwarz|2012|p=93}} When the chairman of the CDU parliamentary group in the Landtag, [[Wilhelm Boden]], died in late 1961, Kohl moved up into a deputy position. Following the next state election in 1963, he took over as chairman, a position he held until he became Minister-President in 1969.{{sfn|Schwarz|2012|pages=98–99}} In 1966, Kohl and the incumbent minister-president and state party chairman, [[Peter Altmeier]], agreed to share duties. In March 1966, Kohl was elected as chairman of the party in Rhineland-Palatinate, while Altmeier once again ran for minister-president in the state elections in 1967, agreeing to hand the post over to Kohl after two years, halfway into the legislative period.{{sfn|Schwarz|2012|p=103}}